The aircraft struck the frozen surface of Athapapuskow Lake approximately 1 1/2 miles from the departure end of runway 18, indicating that the aircraft descended after take-off. The wreckage trail was oriented on a heading of 240 degrees magnetic, indicating that, just prior to the crash, the pilot was likely initiating a shallow turn to the right, on course towards the north. An examination of the wreckage after the occurrence could find no evidence of a powerplant, flight control, or aircraft system failure that would have contributed to the occurrence. However, given the extent of the damage, the possibility cannot be ruled out that some unidentified fault or unexpected situation diverted the pilot's attention from the task at hand. Toxicological and pathological examinations completed following the accident provided normal results, and gave no indication of pilot incapacitation prior to impact. A night departure from a remote northern aerodrome can be a challenging task. Even in VFR weather conditions, this type of departure requires the pilot to place increased reliance on available visual references and on basic instrument flying skills. This pilot had shown consistently poor IFR flight test results relating to altitude control and procedural errors and had failed his last instrument flight re-test. In the area of the accident, there was little or no illumination from either the lights of the community or from the night sky. At night, particularly with overcast ceiling conditions, a lack of external visual references caused by inadequate ground and sky illumination, coupled with the requirement to use cockpit lighting to illuminate the instrument panel, could have adversely affected the pilot's ability to maintain required visual reference with the ground during the initial climb, and may have required the pilot to rely on instrument flying skills. Any distraction during flight under these conditions would have further compounded the pilot's workload, making the maintenance of situational awareness very difficult. The forward acceleration of the Cessna 210 aircraft is sufficient to produce a powerful illusion of increasing pitch attitude. Under the prevailing dark night conditions and with restricted outside visual references, a somatogravic illusion could have caused the pilot to erroneously perceive an increase in the aircraft pitch attitude. This illusion would be intensified by a quicker than normal aircraft acceleration associated with a shallow departure climb. If the illusion went unrecognized, the pilot may have responded inappropriately by pushing the control column forward, causing the aircraft to descend after take-off and contact the ice surface. The following Engineering Branch report was completed: LP 10/96 - Instrument and Light Bulb Examination.Analysis The aircraft struck the frozen surface of Athapapuskow Lake approximately 1 1/2 miles from the departure end of runway 18, indicating that the aircraft descended after take-off. The wreckage trail was oriented on a heading of 240 degrees magnetic, indicating that, just prior to the crash, the pilot was likely initiating a shallow turn to the right, on course towards the north. An examination of the wreckage after the occurrence could find no evidence of a powerplant, flight control, or aircraft system failure that would have contributed to the occurrence. However, given the extent of the damage, the possibility cannot be ruled out that some unidentified fault or unexpected situation diverted the pilot's attention from the task at hand. Toxicological and pathological examinations completed following the accident provided normal results, and gave no indication of pilot incapacitation prior to impact. A night departure from a remote northern aerodrome can be a challenging task. Even in VFR weather conditions, this type of departure requires the pilot to place increased reliance on available visual references and on basic instrument flying skills. This pilot had shown consistently poor IFR flight test results relating to altitude control and procedural errors and had failed his last instrument flight re-test. In the area of the accident, there was little or no illumination from either the lights of the community or from the night sky. At night, particularly with overcast ceiling conditions, a lack of external visual references caused by inadequate ground and sky illumination, coupled with the requirement to use cockpit lighting to illuminate the instrument panel, could have adversely affected the pilot's ability to maintain required visual reference with the ground during the initial climb, and may have required the pilot to rely on instrument flying skills. Any distraction during flight under these conditions would have further compounded the pilot's workload, making the maintenance of situational awareness very difficult. The forward acceleration of the Cessna 210 aircraft is sufficient to produce a powerful illusion of increasing pitch attitude. Under the prevailing dark night conditions and with restricted outside visual references, a somatogravic illusion could have caused the pilot to erroneously perceive an increase in the aircraft pitch attitude. This illusion would be intensified by a quicker than normal aircraft acceleration associated with a shallow departure climb. If the illusion went unrecognized, the pilot may have responded inappropriately by pushing the control column forward, causing the aircraft to descend after take-off and contact the ice surface. The following Engineering Branch report was completed: LP 10/96 - Instrument and Light Bulb Examination. Weather at the time of the departure from Flin Flon was VFR, with an overcast cloud ceiling at about 1,000 feet agl. There are very few ground lights southwest of the Flin Flon aerodrome and, in the area of the accident, there was little or no illumination from either the lights of the community or from the night sky. Poor ground and sky illumination may have prevented the pilot from maintaining adequate visual reference with the ground and likely required the pilot to rely on instrument flying skills, especially during the initial climb portion of the flight. The pilot had shown consistently poor IFR flight test results relating to altitude control and procedural errors and had failed his last instrument flight re-test. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of a powerplant, flight control, or aircraft system failure that would have contributed to the occurrence. Given the extent of the damage, the possibility cannot be ruled out that some unidentified fault or unexpected situation diverted the pilot's attention from the task at hand. Toxicological and pathological examinations completed following the accident provided normal results, and gave no indication of pilot incapacitation prior to impact. The accident was non-survivable because of the severe aircraft destruction. Somatogravic illusion may have adversely affected the pilot's performance during the acceleration stages of the take-off and initial climb.Findings Weather at the time of the departure from Flin Flon was VFR, with an overcast cloud ceiling at about 1,000 feet agl. There are very few ground lights southwest of the Flin Flon aerodrome and, in the area of the accident, there was little or no illumination from either the lights of the community or from the night sky. Poor ground and sky illumination may have prevented the pilot from maintaining adequate visual reference with the ground and likely required the pilot to rely on instrument flying skills, especially during the initial climb portion of the flight. The pilot had shown consistently poor IFR flight test results relating to altitude control and procedural errors and had failed his last instrument flight re-test. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of a powerplant, flight control, or aircraft system failure that would have contributed to the occurrence. Given the extent of the damage, the possibility cannot be ruled out that some unidentified fault or unexpected situation diverted the pilot's attention from the task at hand. Toxicological and pathological examinations completed following the accident provided normal results, and gave no indication of pilot incapacitation prior to impact. The accident was non-survivable because of the severe aircraft destruction. Somatogravic illusion may have adversely affected the pilot's performance during the acceleration stages of the take-off and initial climb. Causes and Contributing Factors